Trump personally thanked British SAS war hero for saving American lives

Craighead had already received a medal for bravery in the UK, the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC), for his role in beating off the jihadis at a hotel in Nairobi in January of 2019, but was being shunned by his colleagues. This is the second-highest military award in the UK.

According to the Daily Mail, Craighead posted a photo on Monday to Instagram, showing the US President thanking him for his role in person. Craighead says that the meeting was completely a surprise and not planned, and that President Trump had "heard I was in town".

"I'll leave this with you: The meeting was unplanned and he had nothing to gain from it. When he heard from key figures of the administration that I was in town, he took the time to thank me personally for saving American lives," said Craighead on Instagram.

Craighead was stationed in Kenya, tasked with training Kenyan soldiers, when the al-Shabaab terrorist group attacked the Dusit D2 complex in Nairobi. The off-duty Craighead wound up grabbing his tactical gear and single-handedly storming a hotel which was part of the complex, killing two of the terrorists, and freeing everybody inside, including several American citizens.

However, this heroic act caused tension between him and the rest of the unit, due to the SAS's general directive for its operatives to avoid the spotlight and act from the shadows. Craighead on his part quit the unit in September of this year, calling his colleagues "jealous."

One of Craighead's friends went on record as saying, "There was a very bitchy response inside the SAS camp to him getting a CGC."